THINGS DON’T ALWAYS GO TO PLAN…

and that’s certainly been the case for us these past few weeks. We left North Wales 6 weeks ago and were invited to Bournemouth to partner with the Foodbank here to open a Miracle Café. We did our best and worked hard to get ready for opening, but sadly that’s not been able to happen. Some pressures arose within the Foodbank due to the current crisis which they’re now dealing with and so we have had no option but to give them space to get back on track.

We had expected to have Miracle Cafe Bournemouth up and running by now – that’s why me & Rob are temporarily living down here in a place far from home.

So what next?…

Maybe you’re in the same boat? You’ve given up everything to follow Jesus and been obedient to His leading, but things haven’t turned out as you’d planned and you’re wondering what went wrong? But I want to tell you that God has it all in hand. Stay focused on Him. Keep listening and following where He leads. Stay at peace and keep your heart sweet. The enemy will try and make you give up, feel disappointment, anger or even bitterness. But don’t go there.

Treat it like a test. That’s what He’s shown me this past week. James 1 says

“Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything… Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

Wow!

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit

Also, don’t try and make things happen in your own strength. And don’t get side-tracked but do whatever the Lord has shown you to do. We’re here to release the kingdom of heaven. So even though we don’t have cafe premises in Bournemouth like we thought, we’ve seen God do some incredible miracles here:

One woman shared how a spirit of insomnia she’d had for 40 years left her. Another lady testified to feeling such guilt and shame after having an abortion in the 1970s, she felt she couldn’t become a Christian for the past 4 decades, but now she has and she’s been completely set free from guilt (video to follow).

A guy received prayer, confessed that he’d been away from God since he was young, decided to get right and surrendered his life to Jesus. Another man who had suffered from mental health problems asked Jesus, the Prince of Peace into his life and felt like he was floating and his mind was free!

A young woman who had been diagnosed psychotic for the past few years discovered it was simply evil spirits that had been lying to her. When we met her she couldn’t look at us, had grey skin, head down, full of despair. After an encounter with Jesus, many demons left her and she looked like a different person – head up, glowing skin, bright eyes and a huge smile on her face.

A woman began to slither on the floor and hiss like a snake but got up full of joy and freedom having been set free. Another was plagued by nightmares – we had to bind demons, then helped her tell the demons to leave. They began to speak saying they’d been there a long time and weren’t going to go, but go they did when commanded to, very quickly and with some screaming, but the woman was set free!

A lady had a lump on her thigh and a lot of pain – it disappeared instantly and so did the pain. Lots more miracles; I could go on, so much has happened!

God uses all things for our good

We’ve met some amazing people and made life-long friends. There are a lot of hungry people in this area who have been praying for God to move in power. And we know that our time here has not been wasted. Perhaps we’ll open a Miracle Café in Bournemouth in the future. We’d love to do that!

As we get ready to move on to the next place the Lord is sending us, we keep our eyes fixed on Him, trusting Him fully in everything, full of faith and expectation that He knows what He is doing, even though we don’t always see it. But He is always faithful, always good, always speaking. And my heart is bursting with His love, and surprisingly full of His joy!

If you’d like to help us open more Miracle Cafes around the world, whether that’s financially, use of your premises, by praying, getting involved or partnering with us to open one in your community, follow the link below and get in touch!